Thursday, July 12, 2012

News: SHAZAM! (1974-76) Comes To DVD in September

Warner Archive Promo Art by Jerry Ordway (I think!)

Chosen from among all others by the immortal elders - Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, Mercury - Billy Batson and his mentor travel the highways and byways of the land on a never ending mission: to right wrongs, to develop understanding, and to seek justice for all! In time of dire need, young Billy has been granted the power by the immortals to summon awesome forces at the utterance of a single word! SHAZAM!

It's been hinted at for some time, but it looks like Warner Archive, the studio's manufacture-on-demand home video label, will finally be offering to U.S. customers the complete 1974-1976 Filmation live-action series, Shazam! on DVD in September. The 18th, in specific. Retail will be $34.85. Like all Warner Archive releases, it will probably be available through Amazon a few weeks later for International customers.

This 3-disc MOD set will include all 3 season's worth of half-hour episodes featuring Michael Gray as Billy Batson, Les Tremayne as his mentor, Mentor, and both Jackson BostwickandJohn Davey as the World's Mightiest Mortal, the legendary Captain Marvel.

I've been looking forward to this release for some time. Warner Archive did a terrific job with their Man From Atlantis releases, and I'm guessing they'll give this show the same care. It'll be nice to put this set on my shelves next to its companion show, Isis, too. This Saturday morning classic came in third in our recent super-heroes poll (tied with The Amazing Spider-Man), so I'm guessing a lot of other Space: 1970 Star Kids are looking forward to it too.

Anon - Seasons 2 & 3 were only 6 episodes each, so new episodes stopped airing before the end of '76. Reruns of those episodes ran throughout the seasons, though, so it's really just a matter of perspective.

I always thought it was strange that Billy would need that communications dome to talk to the Elders. Gods don't need electronics, do they?

Ah, Filmation. I miss those guys. We just need a few more releases to complete the collection of their most popular 1970s shows. Lassie's Rescue Rangers and Tarzan, chief among them. But unfortunately, those two are also licensed properties, so they're probably tied up in copyright disputes.

Lassie's Rescue Rangers shouldn't be too hard to get, but it won't come from Warner Archive; it'll probably come from a company that's licensed to do so by Classic Media and the company that own's the rights to Lassie.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog is dedicated to the science fiction films and television series of the 1970s - give or take a few years (say, 1969-1983) - including such nostalgic favorites as Star Wars, Space: 1999, UFO, Space Academy, the original Battlestar Galactica, Jason of Star Command, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Logan's Run and many others.

But be warned: I still love these productions with all the enthusiasm I held for them as a kid, and they will be treated here with affection and respect. If you're looking for someone to snarkily denigrate "old" movies - or like to do that yourself - you've come to the wrong site.

So journey with us back to the days when special effects were created by skillful hands and spaceships were detailed models, when robots were obligatory comedy relief, when square-jawed heroes and cloaked villains battled among the stars -- and the future was fun!

PLEASE NOTE:I do not sell (nor even buy, all that often) the memorabilia and merchandise I write about on this blog, nor do I have any idea what value your "collectibles" might have. That's not what this site is about, so please don't ask me.

ABOUT ME

Christopher Mills is a professional writer of comic books and short fiction in a variety of genres, as well as a DVD reviewer for several pop culture websites. His taste in entertainment clearly peaked when he was about 15, which certainly explains his embarrassing obsession with James Bond, hardboiled crime fiction, comic books, paperback pulps, space opera, Universal/Hammer/Toho Monsters, sword & sorcery sagas, old genre TV shows and vintage B-movies.

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